This is . . . more of a fragment than anything, I guess. Written for the
Valentine's contest on the Furuba.com forums, although it's technically
a White Day fic. ^_^ Haru/Rin, pre-breakup. Takes place while the
main cast are off on their trip to the Sohma hot springs.
********
"Softer Than the Rain"
a "Fruits Basket" fanfic by Ysabet MacFarlane
February 29, 2004
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Haru found her before the sun went down, although in the rain the
streets were almost dark. The distance and routes between places
disoriented him, but finding her was easy; he could almost close his eyes
and orient himself to her, as if they were hunter and prey rather than
lovers.
She was walking down one of the main streets, as purposeful as if she
had somewhere to go. Out of deference to the weather she was wearing
pants instead of a skirt, but she didn't have a jacket and her shirt wasn't
covering enough skin to keep her warm. He took his own coat off and
put it over her shoulders when he came up beside her, and said nothing.
"You'll get cold," she protested.
In reply he stopped walking and unbuttoned his shirt, took her gently by
the shoulders and held her against him. The shock of her chilled skin
touching his made him gasp. After a moment her arms went around
him, under the shirt, accepting the offered body heat. The rain continued
to fall, not heavy, but cold in the early spring evening. It would numb
him quickly, leaving him no warmth to share with her.
"Do you want to stop and get tea somewhere?" he asked. A formality--
they both knew she had nowhere to go, and it was getting dark.
"All right."
He chose a teahouse almost at random--that is, the first one they came to
that was large and formal enough to offer private rooms. The staff was
too well-trained to show their skepticism when two bedraggled
adolescents walked in, and were more than helpful after Haru murmured
their family's name and where to send the bill. The room they were
shown to had a kotatsu under the low table, and tea appeared with
impressive speed.
"Please make sure we're not interrupted," he said to the girl who had
brought the tea, and she bowed deeply as she slid the door closed behind
her.
Rin was already curled up by the kotatsu, half-hidden by its quilt, and
cradling a cup of tea in her hands. He went and knelt beside her, aware
of her shivering as it became less violent and eventually stopped. While
she drank a second cup of tea, he smoothed her hair, spreading it so it
would dry faster.
"Want to talk about it?" he asked, as if 'it' was something that could be
pinned down or expressed in words.
She shook her head. "Nothing new." She shifted her legs under the
quilt and lay down on her side, resting her head on his thighs and closing
her eyes. He touched her face, trying to comfort the helpless misery that
sometimes possessed her.
He had a vague sense, sometimes, that at fifteen he should have been too
young to understand the trust implied by the way she was nestled against
him, or by the way she accepted and responded to his touch on the rare
occasions when they were able to be alone and safe together. But he
couldn't remember a time when he hadn't understood, hadn't loved her
for it.
"Where were you going?" she asked after a while.
"Looking for you. Kagura-nee said you'd gone out."
She turned her head enough to look up at him. "You went to the
house?" The beginnings of fear lurked under the question.
"Well . . . it's White Day, so I wanted to make sure I saw you."
"Is it? Already?" He guessed that she hadn't expected him to know,
because of his tendency to forget details and because they both knew
better than to exchange gifts. Almost nothing tangible connected them,
nothing to arouse suspicion in others. He had given her one necklace,
and one of the rings on his right hand was from her. Beyond that,
nothing.
"I took chocolate over for all three of you," he replied matter-of-factly.
"They gave me tea, and then I asked where you were."
Worry gave way to bemusement. "Did you give Kisa some too?" She
reached up and ran a finger down his earlobe, tracing the trio of studs.
He nodded, and she laughed. "It's so like you--you're a sweetheart even
when you're being sneaky." A thoughtful look crossed her face.
"Didn't that girl living with Gure-nii send you all chocolate last month?"
"She did. There's no rush for going over there, though; Momiji's taken
her and Yuki and Kyo up to the family hot springs for the holiday."
They shared a moment of wistfulness for their inability to do something
similar, and then Rin shook herself out of it. "Well, I hope they're
having better weather up in the mountains." She sat up and kissed him.
"I'm glad you found me."
"Me too." He touched her hair and found it was still damp. "How long
were you out there?" He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against
hers, close enough that her breath tickled his face.
"I don't know. I wasn't paying attention."
"Silly girl." Worry and endearment tangled together seamlessly in the
reproach, and he kissed her the same way she had kissed him--soft,
loving reassurance, all they would allow themselves in a public place,
even if there was a closed door between them and the world. It was
more than they were usually able to have. Sometimes it was enough.
********
No editors on this one, so any mistakes and uncaught typos are entirely
my fault.
The title is from Simon and Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May
Find Her".
Standard fanfic rules apply: "Fruits Basket" belongs to Takaya Natsuki,
and this piece of fiction belongs to me.
I don't usually dedicate fanfics, but this one is for my boyfriend, who is
surprisingly good-natured about my obsession with Haru. ^_^
********